Cycling tips and advice with an emphasis on good gear and great health.

Thursday, 21 August 2014

Clipless pedals that aren't clipless, but do have clips, sort of.

When I first saw the kickstarter project for 'ANYKICKS' my first thought was 'I don't get it'. Then as I thought about it a little longer my next thought was 'that's genius'. The concept behind the ANYKICKS system is that you can attach cleats to any shoes without having to actually bolt them on. Now why would that matter I hear you mumble? Well let me give you a scenario:

Sometimes I have to visit clients who have factories that I theoretically can't go into without steel toecap boots, but there's no way I'm going to cycle to my client with flat pedals on my bike - once you've gone 'clipped in' there's simply no going back. So I have to cycle to my client in cycling shoes and then change into a pair of safety boots that I have stashed at my client's factory. You see, you just can't buy steel toecapped cycling shoes. I know; I've looked into it.

So with these rather clever devices I would strap them around my safety boots, jump on my bike, clip in and go. At my destination I'd simply unstrap. These are safer than old-fashioned toe-straps because with a twist of the heel you can still clip off the pedal like you can when wearing actual cycling shoes.